Reference is made to commonly assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/955,549 by Wexler, filed of even date herewith, entitled Ink Jet Recording Element.
The present invention relates to a inkjet printing method using a porous ink jet recording element.
In a typical ink jet recording or printing system, ink droplets are ejected from a nozzle at high speed towards a recording element or medium to produce an image on the medium. The ink droplets, or recording liquid, generally comprise a recording agent, such as a dye or pigment, and a large amount of solvent. The solvent, or carrier liquid, typically is made up of water, an organic material such as a monohydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol or mixtures thereof.
An ink jet recording element typically comprises a support having on at least one surface thereof at least one ink-receiving layer. The ink-receiving layer is typically either a porous layer that imbibes the ink via capillary action, or a polymer layer that swells to absorb the ink. Swellable hydrophilic polymer layers take an undesirably long time to dry. Porous ink-receiving layers are usually composed of inorganic or organic particles bonded together by a binder. The amount of particles in this type of coating is often far above the critical particle volume concentration, which results in high porosity in the coating. During the ink jet printing process, ink droplets are rapidly absorbed into the coating through capillary action and the image is dry-to-touch right after it comes out of the printer. Therefore, porous coatings allow a fast xe2x80x9cdryingxe2x80x9d of the ink and produces a smear-resistant image.
Ink jet prints, prepared by printing onto ink jet recording elements, are subject to environmental degradation. They are especially vulnerable to damage resulting from contact with water and atmospheric gases such as ozone. The damage resulting from the post imaging contact with water can take the form of water spots resulting from deglossing of the top coat, dye smearing due to unwanted dye diffusion, and even gross dissolution of the image recording layer. Ozone bleaches ink jet dyes resulting in loss of density. To overcome these deficiencies, ink jet prints are often laminated. However, lamination is expensive as it requires a separate roll of material.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,785,313 and 4,832,984 relate to an inkjet recording element comprising a support having thereon a fusible, ink-transporting layer and an ink-retaining layer, wherein the ink-retaining layer is non-porous. However, there is a problem with this element in that it has poor image quality.
EP 858, 905A1 relates to an ink jet recording element having a porous, outermost layer formed by heat sintering thermoplastic particles such as polyurethane which may contain a slight amount of a hydrophilic binder such as poly(vinyl alcohol). However, there is a problem with this element in that it has poor resistance to mechanical abrasion when it does not contain a hydrophilic binder, and poor water-resistance when it does contain a hydrophilic binder.
It is an object of this invention to provide an inkjet printing method using an ink jet recording element having a fusible protective uppermost layer and ink-retaining underlayer which can be printed with ink jet inks without bleed. It is another object of the invention to provide an ink jet printing method using a porous ink-transporting layer that has good mechanical integrity and is abrasion resistant. It is another object of the invention to provide an ink jet printing method using an ink jet recording element having a protective uppermost ink-transporting layer that is thermally fusible and thereby can be rendered water resistant. It is another object to provide an ink jet printing method using an ink jet recording element that can be thermally fused to provide high density of the printed image.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the invention which comprises an ink jet printing method comprising the steps of:
I) providing an ink jet printer that is responsive to digital data signals;
II) loading the printer with an ink jet recording element comprising a support having thereon in order:
a) at least one porous, ink-retaining layer; and
b) a fusible, porous ink-transporting layer comprising fusible, polymeric particles and a film-forming, hydrophobic binder;
III) loading the printer with an ink jet ink composition;
IV) printing on the image-receiving layer using the ink jet ink composition in response to the digital data signals; and
V) fusing the fusible, porous ink-transporting layer to provide a continuous polymeric layer on the surface of the ink jet recording element.
By use of the ink jet printing method of the invention, a porous ink jet recording element is obtained that has good abrasion resistance, has good water-resistance and high print density.
The fusible, polymeric particles employed in the invention may have any particle size provided they will form a porous layer. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the particle size of the fusible, polymeric particles may range from about 0.5 to 10 xcexcm. The particle may be formed from any polymer which is fusible, i.e., capable of being converted from discrete particles into a continuous layer through the application of heat and/or pressure. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the fusible, polymeric particle comprises a condensation polymer, a styrenic polymer, a vinyl polymer, an ethylene-vinyl chloride copolymer, a polyacrylate, poly(vinyl acetate), poly(vinylidene chloride), a vinyl acetate-vinyl chloride copolymer. In still another preferred embodiment, the condensation polymer may be a polyester or polyurethane.
The film-forming, hydrophobic binder useful in the invention can be any film-forming hydrophobic polymer capable of being dispersed in water. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hydrophobic binder is an aqueous dispersion of an acrylic polymer or a polyurethane.
The particle-to-binder ratio of the particles and binder employed in the ink-transporting layer can range between about 98:2 and 60:40, preferably between about 95:5 and 80:20. In general, a layer having particle-to-binder ratios above the range stated will usually not have sufficient cohesive strength; and a layer having particle-to-binder ratios below the range stated will usually not be sufficiently porous to provide good image quality.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ratio of the mean volume weighted size of the dispersed film forming hydrophobic polymeric binder particles to the fusible, polymeric particles is preferably 0.15 to 1, and more preferably greater than 0.41 to 1, as determined by a Horiba LA-920 Laser Scattering Particle Size Distribution Analyzer (Horiba Instruments, Inc.). While not being bound by any theory, it is believed that if the ratio is below the lower limit stated, the binder particles pass through the interparticle voids between the larger fusible particles, and deposit at the interface with the ink-retaining layer. The resultant structure blocks ink flow into the ink-retaining layer, resulting in undesirable bleed. The interparticle voids are taken to be the radius in the plane of contact of the interstice, r, formed by three spheres of radius, R. In a close packed array, r=0.15R, and in the more open array of square packed spheres r=0.41R.
The ink-retaining layer can be any porous structure, but it is preferred that the mean pore radius is smaller than the uppermost ink-transporting layer. Thus, if the ink-retaining layer is composed of particles and binder, the particles will be significantly smaller than the fusible, polymeric particles in the upper ink-transporting layer, thereby assuring a correct pore-size hierarchy.
In general, the ink-retaining layer or layers will have a thickness of about 1 xcexcm to about 50 xcexcm, and the top ink-transporting layer will usually have a thickness of about 2 xcexcm to about 50 xcexcm. In a preferred embodiment, the ink-retaining layer is present in an amount from about 1 g/m2 to about 50 g/m2, preferably from about 5.0 g/m2 to about 30 g/m2.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ink-retaining layer is a continuous, co-extensive porous layer which contains organic or inorganic particles. Examples of organic particles which may be used include core/shell particles such as those disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/609,969 of Kapusniak et al., filed Jun. 30, 2000, and homogeneous particles such as those disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/608,466 of Kapusniak et al., filed Jun. 30, 2000, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Examples of organic particles which may be used include acrylic resins, styrenic resins, cellulose derivatives, polyvinyl resins, ethylene-allyl copolymers and polycondensation polymers such as polyesters.
Examples of inorganic particles which may be used in the ink-retaining layer employed in the invention include silica, alumina, titanium dioxide, clay, calcium carbonate, barium sulfate, or zinc oxide.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the porous ink-retaining layer comprises from about 20% to about 100% of particles and from about 0% to about 80% of a polymeric binder, preferably from about 80% to about 95% of particles and from about 20% to about 5% of a polymeric binder. The polymeric binder may be a hydrophilic polymer such as poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinyl pyrrolidone), gelatin, cellulose ethers, poly(oxazolines), poly(vinylacetamides), partially hydrolyzed poly(vinyl acetate/vinyl alcohol), poly(acrylic acid), poly(acrylamide), poly(alkylene oxide), sulfonated or phosphated polyesters and polystyrenes, casein, zein, albumin, chitin, chitosan, dextran, pectin, collagen derivatives, collodian, agar-agar, arrowroot, guar, carrageenan, tragacanth, xanthan, rhamsan and the like. Preferably, the hydrophilic polymer is poly(vinyl alcohol), hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, a poly(alkylene oxide), poly(vinyl pyrrolidinone), poly(vinyl acetate) or copolymers thereof or gelatin.
Suitable porous materials for an ink-retaining layer include, for example, silica or alumina in a polymeric binder. In a preferred embodiment, the ink-retaining layer is porous fumed alumina in a crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) binder.
In order to impart mechanical durability to an inkjet recording element, crosslinkers which act upon the binder discussed above may be added in small quantities. Such an additive improves the cohesive strength of the layer. Crosslinkers such as carbodiimides, polyfunctional aziridines, aldehydes, isocyanates, epoxides, polyvalent metal cations, vinyl sulfones, pyridinium, pyridylium dication ether, methoxyalkyl melamines, triazines, dioxane derivatives, chrom alum, zirconium sulfate and the like may be used. Preferably, the crosslinker is an aldehyde, an acetal or a ketal, such as 2,3-dihydroxy-1,4-dioxane.
The porous ink-retaining layer can also comprise an open-pore polyolefin, an open-pore polyester or an open pore membrane. An open pore membrane can be formed in accordance with the known technique of phase inversion. Examples of a porous ink-receiving layer comprising an open-pore membrane are disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/626,752 and U.S. Ser. No. 09/626,883, both of Landry-Coltrain et al., filed Jul. 27, 2000.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, two porous, ink-retaining layers are present in the ink jet recording element employed in the invention. In this embodiment, the uppermost layer is substantially the same as the lower layer, but at a thickness of only 1% to 20% of the thickness of the lower layer, and also contains from about 1-20% by weight of a mordant, such as a cationic latex mordant.
The two porous, ink-retaining layers can be coated simultaneously or sequentially by any of the known coating techniques as noted below. The dye image is then concentrated at the thin uppermost ink-retaining layer containing a mordant, and thereby enhances print density.
The support used in the ink jet recording element employed in the invention may be opaque, translucent, or transparent. There may be used, for example, plain papers, resin-coated papers, various plastics including a polyester resin such as poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate) and poly(ester diacetate), a polycarbonate resin, a fluorine resin such as poly(tetra-fluoro ethylene), metal foil, vinyl, fabric, laminated or coextruded supports, various glass materials, and the like. In a preferred embodiment, the support is a resin-coated paper. The thickness of the support employed in the invention can be from about 12 to about 500 xcexcm, preferably from about 75 to about 300 xcexcm.
If desired, in order to improve the adhesion of the base layer to the support, the surface of the support may be corona-discharge-treated prior to applying the base layer or solvent-absorbing layer to the support.
Since the image recording element may come in contact with other image recording articles or the drive or transport mechanisms of image recording devices, additives such as surfactants, lubricants, UV-absorbing agents, matte particles and the like may be added to the element to the extent that they do not degrade the properties of interest.
The layers described above, including the base layer and the top layer, may be coated by conventional coating means onto a support material commonly used in this art. Coating methods may include, but are not limited to, wound wire rod coating, slot coating, slide hopper coating, gravure, curtain coating and the like. Some of these methods allow for simultaneous coatings of both layers, which is preferred from a manufacturing economic perspective.
After printing on the element employed in the invention, the fusible, porous ink-transporting layer is heat and/or pressure fused to form an overcoat layer on the surface. Fusing is preferably accomplished by contacting the surface of the element with a heat fusing member, such as a fusing roller or fusing belt. Thus, for example, fusing can be accomplished by passing the element through a pair of heated rollers, heated to a temperature of about 60xc2x0 C. to about 160xc2x0 C., using a pressure of 5 to about 15 MPa at a transport rate of about 0.005 m/sec to about 0.5 m/sec.
Ink jet inks used to image the recording elements employed in the present invention are well-known in the art. The ink compositions used in ink jet printing typically are liquid compositions comprising a solvent or carrier liquid, dyes or pigments, humectants, organic solvents, detergents, thickeners, preservatives, and the like. The solvent or carrier liquid can be solely water or can be water mixed with other water-miscible solvents such as polyhydric alcohols. Inks in which organic materials such as polyhydric alcohols are the predominant carrier or solvent liquid may also be used. Particularly useful are mixed solvents of water and polyhydric alcohols. The dyes used in such compositions are typically water-soluble direct or acid type dyes. Such liquid compositions have been described extensively in the prior art including, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,381,946; 4,239,543 and 4,781,758, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.